2 1 M AY 2 0 0 9

CD REVIEW: Georg Friedrich Händel – HARPSICHORD SUITES, 1720 (Jory Vinikour, harpsichord; Delos)

Georg Friedrich Händel (1685 – 1759) - ‘GREAT’ SUITES FOR

HARPSICHORD, 1720 (HWV 426 – 433), & CHACONNE IN G MAJOR (HWV

435): Jory Vinikour, harpsichord [recorded at First Scots Presbyterian

Church, Charleston (SC), in 2008; Delos DE 3394]

Händel’s 1720 suites for harpsichord have been at the peripheries of the performance and recorded repertories of many of the most celebrated keyboardists of the twentieth century, players as diverse as Glenn Gould and Thurston Dart, who performed the suites on a large variety of instruments ranging from period harpsichords to modern concert grand pianos. In music for the harpsichord, questions of which approaches are and are not properly stylish are not quite so prominent as with Baroque operas: knowing that a composer intended his work for the harpsichord, the construction of the instrument and its quintessential method of tonal production dictate to a certain degree the manner of execution required of the player. Music composed for the harpsichord invariably demands great dexterity, not merely in rapid-paced display pieces but also in slowe r, more thoughtful pieces (which, in the custom of the Baroque, often adopt dance forms) in which articulation is an important device of interpretation. This is perhaps more true of Händel’s harpsichord music than that of his closest rivals (Johann Sebastian Bach excepted). Händel’s music always displays a ‘public face,’ as it were, but differs from the music of many other Baroque composers in that the fugal complexities and intricate ornaments are not solely sequins sewn onto the garment so that the wearer sparkles in the glare. Even the most extravagant bravura passages serve an emotional purpose. Whatever the context of a performance or recording of Händel’s harpsichord suites, it is upon the player’s realization of this elusive dichotomy that success relies.

An important lesson learned from Baroque opera is that it is no easy task to sort through the technical hurdles of difficult music in order to discern – and, hopefully, convey to the listener – the interpretive significance of the difficulties. It is in this vein that this recording achieves its greatest accomplishments. The consummate master of his chosen instrument (in the case of this recording, a copy of a 1739 Johann Heinrich Gräbner harpsichord constructed in 2001 by John Phillips), Mr.

Vinikour’s technical prowess need hardly be mentioned: every requisite element of a great harpsichordist is decidedly and reliably in place. This recording is not merely the work of a great playe r, howeve r, but likewise of a tremendously gifted artist.

Throughout the performances preserved on these discs, Mr. Vinikour ideally captures the inherent spirit of each movement. Passages of dazzling technical difficulty are rendered with exhilarating ease. Yet, when the cast of the piece reveals to the listener that exhilaration is not the intent, Mr. Vinikour is capable of communicating through the inflections of his playing that the music is difficult, frustratingly and maddeningly so, explosions of anger and temper expressed as deftly as murmurs of joy and tenderness. A popular criticism of Baroque music is that it is academic, formulaic, and emotionally void except in simplistic depictions of single emotions played against one another for basic effects of contrast. Mr. Vinikour’s performances of Händel’s harpsichord suites resoundingly contradict these assertions, howeve r, and prove that these are not ‘miniature masterpieces’ (a term often applied contemptuously) but masterful works on any scale of comparison.

As he displays in all of his performances and recordings, it is obvious from the start that Mr. Vinikour’s extensive experience as an accompanist for the finest instrumentalists and singers, as well as impressive achievements as a chamber musician, has informed his perception of phrasing. Unlike many players in music of this nature, Mr. Vinikour’s playing speaks in musical paragraphs rather than in disjointed clauses. The insightful grasp of the overall structure and both thematic and emotional progressions of a piece enables Mr. Vinikour to punctuate his playing appropriately, never leaving dangling participles of notes that seem pasted on. There is a reason for every note, and Mr. Vinikour’s playing reveals this in a way that never manipulates or imposes on the music, a rare experience in which the player convinces the listener that the expressive nuances of the music fully justify its formidable technical difficulties.

These suites are indisputably special for they represent Händel composing for a solo instrument of which he was an acknowledged master. It is therefore easy to view these suites as remarkably significant works, and it is beyond doubt that they exhibit Händel’s extraordinary ability for challenging the boundaries of the musical idioms he knew so well. Listening to Mr. Vinikour’s performances on these discs, every idiomatic challenge met head-on and won heroically, the essence of Händel’s musical sensibility seems lovingly revealed. Even amidst the continuing revival of interest in Händel’s music in the world’s concert halls, opera houses, and recording studios, this recording is exceptional in equally confirming the statures of the compose r, his music, and the player who has chosen to explore it, and in reminding the Baroque-saturated public that music published in 1720, when entrusted to the right hands, is no less inventive and moving than any music created in the three centuries that have followed.

july/august 2009

American Record Guide

HANDEL: Harpsichord Suites Jory Vinikour Delos 3394 [2CD] 127 minutes Although Handel’s eight suites (1720) are, on the whole, not as popular as they ought to be, there’s been a steady stream of releases over the course of my ARG tenure. Mr Barker’s review of Ludger Remy’s CPO release (Nov/Dec 2003) includes a relatively comprehensive overview of the discography. Until now, only Ottavio Dantone on Arts (July/Aug 2005) has fully captured my attention. I’m not sure why this is, except perhaps that the recordings before his have been a bit too safe and straightforward. Mr Barker praised Scott Ross’s set (Erato, deleted) in his 2003 review and was warmer about Paul Nicholson’s than I (Hyperion, Mar/Apr 1996). I didn’t own the Ross in 1996 but do now. Returning to it for this review, I found it virtuosic but marred by less-than-ideal sound. All in all, it’s no better than Nicholson’s—which, while good, is easily dislodged by Dantone. I haven’t heard and don’t own Remy’s CPO release, but Mr Barker, who certainly knows his Handel, called it admirable but middle-of-the-road. Vinikour’s release equals Dantone’s in every respect; in fact, I devoured the performance on first hearing and can confidently claim it as my new first choice for this music. For one thing, Vinikour has the dash, spontaneity, and French-inspired playing style that I called for in 1996. Prelude movements such as the one in the A-major Suite now sound like unmeasured preludes, as they should. Allemandes (and allemande-like movements) sound like Allemandes (for instance, the Andante from the G-minor Suite), with careful staggering of left and right hands, a wealth of articulation and nuances of timing, and all the repeats. Vinikour’s fiery dexterity works to good advantage in the overture to the G-minor Suite, the first Allegro from the F-major Suite, and the second Presto from the D-minor Suite; but in tender, slow movements he shows a refined lyricism and exquisite rubato (the first Adagio from the F-major Suite and the Sarabande from the G-minor Suite are the best I’ve heard—ever). Those who know and like Dantone’s release will no doubt miss the breathtaking embellishments in the repeats, which are on the whole more extravagant than Vinikour’s—but I prefer hearing the text of Handel’s music more clearly and so prefer Vinikour’s more nuanced variants. Delos’s sound aims for the ambience of a concert performance—Dantone, Nicholson, and Ross are all more closely miked. Vinikour plays a John Phillips instrument based on a 1739 model by Johann Heinrich Graebner with an extended bass range, which Vinikour employs with remarkable taste and restraint. The tuning—the sweet, untroubled Bach- Lehmann temperament—works remarkably well for Handel (certainly better than it does for Bach). All in all, this is a fabulous release and a sure sign that Jory Vinikour is an artist to watch. HASKINS

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Harpsichordist Jory Vinikour—from Handel to HorovitzDepartments - Feature Articles

Written by James Reel

Monday, 27 July 2009

Harpsichordist Jory Vinikour—from Handel to Horovitz

BY JAMES REEL

Despite the early-music boom ofrecent decades, the harpsichordremains something of amarginalized instrument inAmerica. And despite GeorgeFrideric Handel’s status as one ofthe two greatest composers of theHigh Baroque, his harpsichordmusic is also marginalized, at leastcompared to the keyboard works ofBach, Couperin, and Rameau. Soas an American recording Handel’sharpsichord suites, Jory Vinikour isdoubly tasked with working his wayin from the edges.

Not that Vinikour himself is anobscure figure; since the 1990s,he’s had quite a full career inEurope. Serving as harpsichordistand coach for Baroque productions at various opera houses (Zurich, Salzburg,Paris, Glyndebourne) provides him a steady income. He has also collaborated inconcert and recording with the likes of vocalists Anne Sofie von Otter and DavidDaniels. (Perhaps so much work with singers has influenced his playing style; thewords “sensitivity” and “lyricism” frequently pop up in his reviews, adjectives notcommonly applied to harpsichordists.) Vinikour also appears regularly as arecitalist and concerto soloist. And he’s not exactly unknown in America; he hasparticipated in several festivals and individual concerts here, and he has appearedas conductor with Musica Angelica, the Baroque orchestra of Los Angeles. Still, it’sEurope where most of the work is for a harpsichordist, and the Chicago-bornVinikour was happy to stay there once a Fulbright scholarship landed him in Paristo study with Huguette Dreyfus and Kenneth Gilbert.

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27/07/09 20:26Classical Music Reviews & Magazine - Fanfare Magazine - Harpsichordist Jory Vinikour—from Handel to Horovitz

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to study with Huguette Dreyfus and Kenneth Gilbert.

“There are more harpsichord-players than work,” he acknowledges, “but there’s aglut in every profession. Think of all the pianists coming out of big conservatoriesand universities with their doctoral diplomas, looking for appropriate work.” Andamong young American students, there are more aspiring harpsichordists thanthere are available harpsichords. As a child, Vinikour was captivated by recordingsof Wanda Landowska on her monstrous 20th-century Pleyel; in his late teens hebecame familiar with the more historically informed playing and instrument choiceof Gustav Leonhardt. But it wasn’t until he was a student at the PeabodyConservatory that Vinikour actually got his hands on a harpsichord. This is less ofa problem in Europe, he has found. “Here, there’s more of an opportunity foryoung conservatory students to begin on the instrument they want. When I wasteaching here, I had students on the harpsichord starting at age six or seven.”

Neglected stepchildren—that’s the status of Handel’s harpsichord suites,compared to those of his leading contemporaries. Partly this is a problem of findingaccurate editions. In 1719, the opportunistic publisher John Walsh put out a bookof Handel keyboard works; the composer himself responded the following year withan authorized collection of eight suites, commonly known as the “Great Suites.”Many of them are in the standard format for this sort of thing, a prelude followedby a series of dances; others, though, follow the more abstract slow-fastalternating patterns associated with church sonatas. Handel was in his earlythirties when he wrote these works—assuming he composed them during theyears immediately preceding publication—and in many respects they are lessHandelian than pieces paying tribute to an earlier generation of Germancomposers, notably Dietrich Buxtehude. “These are great pieces, wonderfulmusic,” Vinikour declares. “Whether or not they maintain such consistent andcoherent a level as Bach’s partitas and suites may be another story.

“Over the last 10 years I’ve been lucky enough to work on a number of Handeloperas. One cannot just divide this composer into several compartments, and thekeyboard music is as much an outpouring of his brilliance and virtuosity as are theoperas. Having a grasp of his vocal music provides a greater appreciation of thekeyboard music, and the best of these pieces are marvelous.”

Not so marvelous is the accuracy of many of the editions that have circulated overthe years. According to Vinikour, even major facsimile publishers have beenreluctant to print the manuscripts or a facsimile of the original edition. Meanwhile,Vinikour complains that even some fine modern editions are “filled with wrongnotes.” Vinikour is interested in accuracy, but he doesn’t want to get so boggeddown in his own research that his performances are overwhelmed by scholarship.“A lot of getting it right comes down to common sense,” he says. “When there’s anobvious false note, I correct it in my copy without going so far as to write acomplaint to the editor of the book. I just compare editions; I have a shelf at homein Paris devoted to Handel keyboard music.” Often, Vinikour will prefer an oldstandby edition, as in the case of the G-Major Chaconne (HWV 435) thatconcludes his two-disc Handel set. “Terence Best, a British musicologist whoedited most of Handel’s available keyboard music and so knows it very well, cameup with four or five extant versions of the Chaconne,” he says. “His final version isdifferent from the usually played version in terms of the order of variations, howmany variations there are, and the content of the variations. After I looked at that, Icame back to the version that everybody’s been playing for a century or sobecause I just like the rhythm of the thing, how one variation falls after another.For example, in the usual edition we have the seventh variation appearing againtoward the end of the piece, which the editor finds superfluous, but I find thisreappearance dramatic.”

Handel wrote his organ concertos for a very specific, fairly modest sort of organ;what’s the right sort of harpsichord for his keyboard suites? “It’s very clear that weneed some type of High Baroque two-keyboard instrument,” says Vinikour. “What

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need some type of High Baroque two-keyboard instrument,” says Vinikour. “Whatprecisely is that instrument is much to be debated. The instrument I chose is aGerman type of instrument that Handel would have been familiar with.” Theinstrument used in the recording was built by John Phillips in 2001; it’s based onone constructed in Dresden in 1739 by Johann Heinrich Gräbner. The original,according to Phillips, seems to be the sole surviving example of large instrumentswith extended basses that occasionally became available during the 18th century,with a range of DD (the lowest D on the modern piano) up five octaves to d’”,allowing for octave doublings of the bass that are not available in normalharpsichords. This can easily accommodate the four-and-a-half-octave range ofHandel’s suites.

The Handel double CD has been released by Delos, the label that earlier issuedVinikour’s recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations . Vinikour isn’t yet sure whetherhis next projects will go to Delos or be independently released, but he knows thecontents: music by Pancrace Royer (already in the can) and Jacques Duphly.“Royer, even more than Duphly, has already been visited by a number of fineharpsichordists, including Christophe Rousset and Bill Christie,” Vinikour notes.“He’s a composer of Rameau’s time who left a very small output; only 15 pieceshave survived, and several suites were lost. This is music of a very high standardand great virtuosity, so it attracts a certain type of performer. There are also morepoetic works that are absolutely charming. The music suits my personality, and Iwanted to record it when I had the opportunity.”

Vinikour also loves contemporary music, and several pieces have been writtenespecially for him. When we spoke, he was gearing up for a recital at Paris’sThéâtre de Châtelet that would include the three harpsichord works of Ligeti, whichVinikour calls “perhaps the three finest works of contemporary harpsichord music.”Right now, he’s beginning to seek financing and scout collaborators for aproposed disc of 20th-century British concertos. Not many years ago, DesmondScott, son of composer Cyril Scott, heard Vinikour playing Michael Nyman on theradio and introduced the harpsichordist to a concerto his father had written for theinstrument. “It had been performed to critical and audience acclaim in 1937, butended up on the shelves,” Vinikour says. “I procured a copy of it, and it took me ayear to realize that the manuscript would not be usable by musicians in 2009.Musicians today are more demanding in terms of requiring legible parts than theywere in 1937, so it would seem. So I began to reset the concerto, which took ayear. I finished my ‘typing,’ as I think of it, and performed it last September with aBritish ensemble, the Orion Chamber Orchestra, directed by Toby Purser. Theaudience loved the piece, and now I’d like very much to do a recording centeredon that, with three other pieces I adore and that are highly contrasting. One is aconcertino by Walter Leigh, the most exquisite little Vaughan Williamsy piece. Hedied tragically at the onset of the Second World War; I don’t think he was muchmore than 35. Then there’s a work by Joseph Horovitz, a very quirky Britishcomposer, an absolutely delicious jazz harpsichord concerto; I don’t think it’s beenperformed in 20 years. The final work on my hypothetical CD is Michael Nyman’sconcerto. I daresay the CD will happen, but I’m not quite sure of the venue andwith whom.”

HANDEL Harpsichord Suites, HWV 426–433. Chaconne in G, HWV 435• Jory Vinikour (hpd) • DELOS 3394 (2 CDs: 127:47)

Jory Vinikour’s traversal of Handel’s eight so-called “Great Suites” published in1720 falls interpretively between the smooth and stylish work of Sophie Yates onChandos and the more aggressive approach of Ludger Rémy on cpo, generallybut not always leaning toward Rémy’s more highly inflected readings. To say thatyou can learn everything you need to know about Vinikour’s Handel from the firstSuite in A Major, is an exaggeration, but it’s a good start. Vinikour gentlyelasticizes the Prelude without stretching it out of shape, which is true of his

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elasticizes the Prelude without stretching it out of shape, which is true of hisapproach to many of the other slow movements in this set; in this particular piece,he actually takes the trouble to phrase the arpeggios. His approach to the innermovements, the Allemande and Courante, is rather French, gentle and flowing(here Vinikour is more similar to Yates). Vinikour doesn’t come down hard on thedownbeats, thereby banishing all hints of stodginess while still keeping the melodicphrases well defined. The concluding Gigue is perky, but again Vinikour avoidsbearing down on the rhythmic element once past the introductory phrase (and itsrepeats).

So far, Vinikour seems to have more in common with Yates, but later—as in thefirst Allegro of HWV 427—he seems to take special delight in the quick, perky,note-cluttered movements, and he absolutely revels in the bravura aspects of thePassacaglia that concludes HWV 432. Vinikour makes it clear that the mighty trillsare what the second Adagio of HWV 427 is all about. He takes a lovely, lyricalapproach to the slow music of HWV 430, and his ornamentation of the so-called“Harmonious Blacksmith” movement is generous but not overbearing. Some of hisslow playing, as in the Prelude of HWV 431, would benefit from just a bit morefreedom, but this is not a major issue, and it would be worse if Vinikour were sowayward that he let the music fall apart, which is never a problem here.

Vinikour imports into the middle of HWV 428 the famous Sarabande from HWV437, from Handel’s 1733 keyboard collection, which suggests that he is notplanning a follow-up album. Too bad, for what Vinikour offers here is first-rate. It’swell recorded on a recent John Phillips instrument, based on a large 1739 JohannHeinrich Gräbner model.

Last Updated ( Monday, 27 July 2009 )

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Midlife Music Musings

SUNDAY, JULY 05, 2009

Handle on Handel

Kemer Thomson

Handel is no Bach, but I mean this as a good thing! I find it amazing that these

two giants, who were born almost within a month of each other and barely 100

miles apart, were so unique. For some reason, George's solo keyboard works have

not fared as well as Sebastian's. They offer a welcome respite from an over-played

and over-recorded mainstream.

Handel favored the English spelling of his name. He so dominated England in the first half of the 18th century that I have chosen to identify his harpsichord music as "Harpsichord - English" in my iTunes schema, which includes the genres "Harpsichord - French," "Harpsichord - German," and "Harpsichord - Italian." I just don't think of him as a German composer. Most amazing is that Handel's keyboard oeuvre is so under-represented, beyond The Harmonious Blacksmith. It has the best of Handel embedded in it: a strong vocal line, along with some really marvelous counterpoint. One harpsichordist friend shed a little light on this mystery: Handel's keyboard style is far less playable than Bach's. It is full of thick textures and difficult reaches. This fits: I believe he was both physically big and also one of those larger-than-life personalities. I picture Sebastian Bach as more compact, and we know he favored the smaller keyboards of Mietke. Actually, one would think that the challenge of Handel's keyboard pieces would make them more attractive. I have had harpsichord collections by Sophie Yates and Blandine Verlet for some years and just couldn't get passionate about the music. It was nice: damning it with faint praise... Verlet's recording suffers from a less-than-ideal sound. Yate's has a fine sound and there is nothing wrong with the playing, except that it just fails to excite me. Neither recording really has drawn me back with any frequency, so I am guilty of listening to "too much" Bach. I think this music has a very masculine quality to it, and it is music well suited to

a virtuoso touch. My favorite recording has been by Keith Jarrett on the modern piano – an energetic and nicely articulated performance. Murray Perahia also has a recording of Handel and Scarlatti in combination on the modern piano that I actually find just a little too sensitive to sustain interest. Although Jarrett makes the music work pretty well on the piano, even it is missing the sparkle that the harpsichord could bring. Fortunately, Jory Vinikour has released a 2-CD collection that I am forced to admit I had ignored simply because I had given up on the music itself. However, Jory is a true virtuoso (I mean this in the best sense of the word), and has the right handle on Handel. First of all, the recording was done on exactly the right kind of harpsichord: an instrument built by John Phillips after the 1739 Gräbner. Phillips is generally considered one of the top American harpsichord builders. I generally find his instruments to be bland – never bad, but just not an instrument that pops out and grabs me by the ears. Not so this instrument: it has a big, rich sound with a great deal of character. I would almost go so far as to describe it as "organ-like," which coincidentally would be ideal for Handel's music. This particular instrument has a rather extraordinary range of DD-d''', extending a fourth lower than most harpsichords that would be used for this music; it sounds like Vinikour occasionally uses those lower notes, perhaps accounting for the "organ-like" sound. The recorded sound is just a bit live, but not offensively so: clearly the church the recoding was done in was quite resonant. The temperament used is the so-called "Bach-Lehmann." I wouldn't normally mention the temperament, but I found this interesting for at least two reasons. First of all, the "Bach-Lehmann" temperament is a rather controversial synthesis, based on interpretation of squiggles Bach made on a manuscript. It's actually a very nice temperament, but I refuse to believe it has any direct association with Bach, let alone Handel. It is strange to see it popping up with increasing frequency, when there are so many other fine temperaments with a stronger historical claim. There is a rather well documented "Handel Temperament" that I have tuned with many times does have a more authentic claim to Handel. Any argument over temperaments is just asking for a fight in the wrong circles, and I find most listeners could hardly care if it were Vallotti, Weckmeister, or "Bach-Lehmann"! The second reason I mention the temperament is that a couple of the suites wander into more "remote" tonalities that will bring out the "color" in a non-equal temperament.In particular, the suites in E Major and F-Sharp Minor on the

second CD will either delight the connoisseur of HIP (historically informed performances) or cause those too comfortable with the pabulum of equal temperament to occasionally cringe. Often recordings will "adjust" the tuning to smooth out the rough spots, but not so on this recording. I say, bravo! I fail to see what good different keys serve if they all sound the same! Enough about the unimportant things: what is important is the performance itself. The 2-CD set includes the eight "Great" Suites of 1720. Not all of these are the French style suites we are so familiar with, often diverging from the standard dance movements. The suite in F Major, by far the shortest of the bunch, consists of only four movements, Adagio-Allegro-Adagio-Allegro: not a single dance there! As I stated earlier, Vinikour is a real virtuoso, and I can't help but recall his San Diego recital almost four years ago, notable for his performing from memory (unusual with harpsichordists) and with astonishing command and bravura. What I find interesting is that Vinikour actually plays many of the movements more broadly than either Verlet or Yates, yet manages to breath life and excitement into everything. Handel isn't caught up with dance, but rather with song. This should come as no surprise, given his focus on operas and oratorios. This is exactly why these suites are such a refreshing change. Also, Handel was a showman, and his solo keyboard works are more extroverted. Bach, of course, is the ultimate introvert. It may be that the Handel is actually more difficult to perform, not just because of the notes, but because in the wrong hands the music can lapse into banality. Vinikour has a clear vision for the music and makes it compelling. This is a recording not to be missed! http://kemer.blogspot.com/2009/07/handle-on-handel.html

U E S D A Y, J U LY 2 1 , 2 0 0 9

Veni, Vidi, Vinikour: Handel’s Harpsichord Suites on CD George Frideric Handel: Harpsichord Suites (1720), Chaconne in G Major (1732-3) Jory Vinikour, Harpsichord Instrument by John Phillips, 2001, copy of Johann Heinrich Gräbner of 1739, Dresden Recorded: First Scots Presbyterian Church, Charleston, South Carolina Recording: Delos DE 3394 (2009)

Review by Rodney Punt

Music lovers know the Handel of extravagant operas, their cousins the oratorios, and certainly the orchestral Water and Royal Fireworks music. We are less likely to have encountered his eight Harpsichord Suites of 1720, though by now there are many recordings on both harpsichord and piano. Far more famous in the genre are the nearly contemporaneous English Suites of J. S. Bach of 1725. Where the suites of Bach often seem like serene, internalized contemplations on dance forms, those of Handel brim over with exuberant impetuosity. If the Bach suites are best appreciated in the evening, those of Handel seem designed for our morning constitutional - as bracing as an ocean spray or the first rays of a dawning sun.

The suites derive some of their heady atmosphere from Handel’s free use of musical form and technique, with few strict fugues and many darting changes of pace and motif. It has often been noted that Handel composed for the ear, not the eye, and these suites are no exception. In many cases the individual pieces have an

improvisational quality, and may well have originated as such. We also often hear in them music borrowed from or used later in other works; listening for examples is half the fun.

We have enjoyed harpsichordist Jory Vinikour’s virtuosity in the Los Angeles area before, most notably in his April 2007 outing with Musica Angelica, where he gave a brilliant performance of the Bach Concerto in d minor. Here he surpasses that performance with an instrument fully up to the sonorous demands of these suites. The Gräbner harpsichord is particularly rich, with a deep bass buzz adding a pleasing cushion for the soprano sparkle of the upper registers. In the many dialogue moments between soprano and bass lines, this equality of timbre pays off nicely. The instrumental placement in the recording is just right – not too close, nor too distant.

Vinikour’s performance is propulsive, his rhythms nicely gauged with just the right hesitations at cadences and phrases. His ornamentation is fully integrated into the musical fabric, which is to say it is natural and unselfconscious. In every sense, Vinikour, an extrovert performer by nature, has fully realized this music. It’s as if the composer himself were performing for us.

The two-CD set of Delos is a model of its kind. In addition to the eight “Great” Suites, there is a bonus inclusion of the Chaconne in G Major, HWV 435, a work in many guises over the years; Vinikour performs the traditional version. Vinikour’s own intelligently written liner notes aid the listener with important details of the works offered.

Atlanta Audio Society, April 2009 : Handel: Harpsichord Suites (1720)

Chicago native Jory Vinikour went to Paris in 1990 to study harpsichord with Huguette Dreyfus and Kenneth Gilbert. Somewhere along the line, he fell in love with the city (not a hard thing to do, that) and has resided there ever since, soaking up the local musical culture and working on his keyboard technique. It seems to me, Vinikour adds a uniquely American zest and passion for rhythm to his playing, which makes him, for my money, an ideal interpreter of Handel. He has it all on display in Handel: Harpsichord Suites (1720).

These are the so-called Eight Great Suites, for reasons that will be abundantly clear to the the most casual listener as well as the well traveled Handelian. This is Handel at his best, taking the received French suite, with Italian influences added, and adapting its conventions to his needs. His primary purpose, which Vinikour understands very well, was to entertain his listeners. Without necessarily sacrificing learned technique, he wore it lightly, As Vinikour observes, “Handel is not as strict a polyphonist as Bach, and in more interested by the gesture and the overall effect of each movement.”

Handel leaves much to the performer, marking arpeggio in front of chordal passages expressed in long note values to indicate the performer may take liberties as his judgment leads him. (Vinikour obviously goes in for this sort of thing.) Discretion is also left to matters of decoration, as in the Air in the D Minor Suite, HWV 428, which Vinikour embellishes imaginatively in a manner which Handel's mentor in Rome, Arcangelo Corelli, would have approved.

This same D Minor Suite will illustrate Handel's stylistic genius, and Vinikour's interpretive prowess, as well as any. It begins, not with a stately ouverture, but with a toccata-like Presto with arpeggiated figuration uncharacteristically written in detail by the composer. Vinikour follows it to the letter, taking the arpeggios at speed, although he admits “a case can certainly be made for a rhythmically free interpretation.” A freely handled, robust fugue follows. Then a charmingly graceful Allemande is followed by a very exciting Courante. At this point, Vinikour interpolates Handel's famous Sarabande and Variations, HWV 437. Though Vinikour gives this justly famed, soulful beauty all the attention it deserves, it must compete for pride of place with the afore-mentioned Air, with its two “doubles” and a thrilling Presto which he takes up-tempo to conclude the suite in splendid style. Jory Vinikour here plays an instrument perfectly suited to his purpose, a harpsichord made by John Phillips (2001), based on an original by Johann Heinrich Gräbner (Dresden, 1739) and remarkable for its clarity in all its well defined registers and its clean articulation. The recordings, made by producer Katherine Handford and engineer Lund in the First Scots Presbyterian Church, Charleston SC, have the well-balanced perspective that is vital when capturing the harpsichord for home listening.

I O N A R T S S O M E T H I N G O T H E R T H A N P O L I T I C S I N W A S H I N G T O N , D . C .

1 4 . 4 . 0 9

Happy Anniversary, G. F. by Charles T. Downey | Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Handel, "Great" Harpsichord Suites (vol. 1, 1720), J. Vinikour

(releas ed on March 31, 2009) Delos DE 3394

This lovely disc of all eight of the "Great" harpsichord suites, published by

Handel as a set in 1720, is performed by American harpsichordist Jory

Vinikour, on a grand instrument tuned to Bradley Lehmann's Bach tuning.

Handel's keyboard music is underplayed considering just how rewarding it

is for the listener -- we have reviewed any of these suites live only once in

the history of Ionarts. There is not really a pre-existing favorite recording

to my ears, but Murray Perahia's take on some of these suites on the piano

and Glenn Gould's flirtation with half of them at the harpsichord would

also be recommended. As for complete versions, harpsichord over piano

(like the quirky set by Andrei Gavrilov and Sviatoslav Richter, now digitally

remastered) is a must, and Vinikour has the dexterity and interpretative

sparkle to do a fine job of channeling the theatricality of Handel the

performer. Most piano teachers tend to assign Bach and not much else for

the Baroque portion of their students' repertory. It was not until I had

some more freedom in choosing what I played as a graduate student that

works by Handel, Rameau, Couperin, and Byrd found their way into my

practice sessions. The Handel suites are even more varied in tone than

those of Bach, since Handel was much freer with the form of the suite and

his suites do not consist only of dance movements. So do yourself a favor

and listen to this economically priced 2-CD set, and better yet print out

some of the scores and give them a whirl at your own keyboard.

127'47"

INFODAD.COM: Family-Focused Reviews (++++) Handel: Harpsichord Suites Nos. 1-8 (“Great”); Chaconne in G Major. Jory Vinikour, harpsichord. Delos. $19.99 (2 CDs). Jory Vinikour offers more than two hours of Handel’s wonderfully varied harpsichord music in the two-CD Delos set of all eight “Great” harpsichord suites, plus the Chaconne in G and its 21 variations. Handel is not well known as a keyboard composer – he is famed for oratorios, operas and orchestral music – but he was a harpsichord and organ virtuoso, and it is clear from these suites that he knew how to get the maximum effectiveness from a keyboard. Interestingly, five of the eight suites are in minor keys, including one in the unusual key of F-sharp minor (which Haydn used for his “Farewell” symphony, No. 45). The generally big sound of Vinikour’s harpsichord (a 2001 copy of a 1739 instrument built by Johann Heinrich Gräbner, with an unusually large range), so apparent in the A major, F major and E major suites – and in the Chaconne – becomes far more intimate and inward-directed in the minor-key works. Vinikour fully explores the different tempos and moods of the suites’ various movements, bringing forth lyricism and brilliance in equal measure and handling ornamentation and balance with ease and skill. Handel’s harpsichord suites are far less well known than the harpsichord works of Bach, but on the basis of this recording, they are as deserving of a place in listeners’ collections and – for those who can surmount their technical difficulties as elegantly as Vinikour does – a place in harpsichord recitals as well.